Welcome to Haringey Green Party's blog. We will publish news here about Haringey, a borough in north London, and what Haringey Greens are up to, plus some political comment. Please feel free to comment on the topics raised here. If you would like to contact us, please email mike.shaughnessy@btinternet.com

Thursday, 14 June 2012

Waste Recycling in Haringey

I reported here on Haringey council’s changes to
refuse and recycling in the borough earlier this year. Basically, a new regime
of waste collection is being rolled out across Haringey, whereby ‘residual’
waste (that put into black bags) is being reduced from weekly to fortnightly
collection, but ‘dry’recyclables (paper, tins, plastics and glass), food and
garden waste remain as before on weekly collection. Where garden space allows,
240 litre wheelie bins are being provided to aid the change in emphasis to
recycling.

Veolia Environmental Services, the private contractor
who won the bid to supply these services, has promised an increase in recycling
rates from the current 25% to 40% by 2015, with an ‘aspiration’ to try to
increase this further to 50%. The council says that early indications are that
recycling rates have risen since the changes started to take place in March
this year, although I’ve not been able to find the exact figures.

The local Lib Dems, desperate to tap into some sort of
popularist issue to reverse their own unpopularity with residents, as
demonstrated by their disastrous showing in the recent London Assembly elections, are waging a campaign against the new collection scheme. Just before the
said elections, I received a copy of a Lib Dem leaflet through my door that had
the headline, ‘ANGER at fortnightly refuse collection’. It went onto say that
bins were overflowing (with one or two photos) which was increasing the amount
of vermin in the borough.

I have to say, around my way, I have seen a few over stuffed
bins, but by and large, the new system seems to have passed off remarkably
smoothly. I have certainly not seen any ‘anger’ from residents, and can only
assume that the Lib Dems are trying to whip something up, in the hope of
profiting from it in the next council elections in 2014.

Haringey Green party is broadly in favour of the move to
more recycling, as it reduces collection carbon emissions and reduces waste
being sent to landfill, which is not only good for the environment, but saves
the council (and council tax payers) money on landfill taxes levied by central
government. I did raise fears that vermin might be problem after the
introduction of the new system, and education of residents was the key to
reducing this risk. I still think this very important, and is the only area that
the Labour council has been remiss in, in this whole operation.

I recently did some work for the neighbouring London borough
of Hackney, talking to residents there about (particularly) food recycling. I
found most people interested in recycling and very willing to talk about the
service. What I found was that many people didn’t understand how the system
works for various reasons. One thing I came across was that many of the people who
were worried about increased vermin, didn’t know that the food waste bins were
lockable. They complained that foxes knocked them over, with food spilling out
onto the street, and had given up on recycling food. A simple demonstration from
me of how to lock the bins, brought surprise from these people and a promise to
try the service again.

I really think Haringey should try this approach, it should pay
for itself and more in landfill tax savings. Hackney has reported an early
increase in over 30% of food waste recycling, so this kind of engagement with
residents clearly works.